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Bridging Age Gaps
in the Workplace: Beyond Stereotypes to
Strategies
by
Simma Lieberman and Kate Berardo
For the
first time, four generations of
employees are simultaneously playing a
prominent role in the workplace. Today
we have more and more people who are
working beyond their 60s into their 70s,
80s and even some into their 90s, which
means you may find two people working
together who could potentially have a 50
year age difference.
The two of us writing this piece—Simma
and Kate—with nearly 30 years between
us, are testament to the fact that an
age difference does not have to
translate into more difficulty working
together. We've collaborated on projects
for over 6 years, written a book
together, and celebrated personal and
professional milestones in each of our
lives. We both feel strongly that our
relationship has been significantly
enriched because of our age
difference, not in spite of it.
Bridging age gaps does, however, often
involve a bit more effort and investment
in the relationship—at least at the
beginning. Why? People are products of
their history, their environment and all
of their experiences, so people from
different generations often have very
different life experiences that shape
how they think, what they value, and
what drives them at work.
If we
were writing a traditional
cross-generational article, at this
junction we would probably start writing
out bullet points of the main
differences between the four
generations. Well, we can't bring
ourselves to do that. While its tempting
to hope that a few bullet points could
suffice in summing up a whole generation
of millions of people, we are doubtful.
Such descriptions need to be viewed
holistically, cautiously taking into
account all the dimensions of diversity
and individuality that exist so you
don't end up getting stuck in
stereotypes.
Even
the 'safest' description, like lists of
key events that have shaped various
generations can be misguiding. While one
generation may experience a collective
event (e.g. Generation X as being shaped
by the technology boom and dotcom era),
that event may impact them as
individuals very differently. Let us
give you a few examples.
Much is
written about the experience of baby
boomers during the Vietnam War and the
60s. Most of what we have read talks
about baby boomers being characterized
as protesting the war with peace marches
and demonstrations. Its true that there
were massive marches and demonstrations
during that time, but there were also
baby boomers in the military in Vietnam,
dying, getting wounded, and coming back
having experienced the trauma of being
in a war. They were shaped very
differently by the same experience.
Or,
take the Veterans generations, who lived
through the depression. Many people from
this generation were frugal, saved their
money, and kept a lot of canned food in
their pantries “just in case.” Yet at
the same time there were other people
who decided that they didn’t know what
was going to happen so they had to live
for today, and spent every paycheck.
Remember as well that generations
typically span 20 years. That means an
event like the dotbomb for Gen Xers in
their early teens may be nothing more
than a faint memory of a TV report,
while for older Gen Xers it may remind
them of the painful memory of a lost
job.
Our
point is this: while it's helpful to
know some of the generalizations about
different generations as a starting
point, the real learning and the real
bridging of age difference comes through
doing two things: 1) suspending your
assumptions and judgments, and 2)
engaging in dialogue across generations.
What
does this mean in practice? When you are
interacting across age difference...
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Find out not only about the seminal
events that occurred as they were
growing up, but also about the ways
in which this event impacted the
person with whom you are
interacting.
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Avoid assuming that because people
are a certain age they will act a
certain way. There are generational
trends and norms but there are a lot
of people in each generation that
don’t fit, like the 70 year old
computer whiz who designs websites
and blogs, the 25 year old who is
not computer literate, the 55 year
old who runs marathons, and the 45
year old who volunteers 20 hours a
week at women and children’s
shelter.
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Instead of treating others as you
like to be treated, find out how
they like to be treated and respect
them by honoring that. When working
with someone older than you, this
means not automatically addressing
them by their first name, as you may
prefer to be called. Instead, ask
such individuals whether they want
to be called by their first name or
their last.
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Acknowledge age difference and talk
about how you can learn from each
other and help each other be more
successful. You may be surprised by
some of the things you have in
common and want to know more about
each others different experiences.
These
are just a few ways in which you can
break through generational stereotypes
and bridge generational differences. For
additional strategies like avoiding
generational jargon and approaching
interactions with a learning
orientation, check out these articles
below:
Contact us
to learn more about Simma and Kate's Cross-Generational programs
and workshops.
Call
Simma Lieberman Associates at (510)-527-0700.
Simma Lieberman works with people
and organizations to create environments
where people can do their best work. She
specializes in diversity, gender
communications, life-work balance and
stress, and acquiring and retaining new
customers.
Kate Berardo is an intercultural
trainer and consultant who specializes
in programs on cross-cultural awareness,
international relocation, and
multicultural teambuilding. She is the
founder of the global resource site
Culturosity.com and co-author of
Putting Diversity to Work.
www.culturosity.com.
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